NFF denies prosecution report on Pinnick

The Nigeria Football Federation has denied a news item in the media claiming that Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that its President, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick, should be prosecuted, describing the report as “outright falsehood and a figment of the writers imagination.”

The NFF Communications Department in a statement released on Saturday said its Pinnick was neither under prosecution nor travel ban.

The statement reads:

“The report is completely unfounded and is only a product of the writer’s imagination. The NFF President, who is also the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of African Football, has not received any such message from any of the agencies mentioned by the writer and has also never been placed on travel ban.

“Mr. Pinnick was in Accra, Ghana on Friday, 4th January 2019 for a meeting with NFF and CAF partners AITEO and returned to Nigeria the same day. He has been going about his lawful official and private activities unhindered. The NFF published its audited account in two (2) major national newspapers (ThisDay and Daily Trust) on Thursday, 20th December 2018 and in another major newspaper (Vanguard) on Tuesday, 25th December 2018. Anyone interested in the Federation’s financial transactions can refer to those pages.

“All incomes into the NFF from the Federal Government, FIFA and CAF from 2014 till now have been correctly recorded and reflected in our accounts. The NFF received nothing like the N59 Billion that the fake news reporters have been hawking. It is laughable.

“Before appointment into FIFA committees, Mr. Amaju and the two Nigerians in there passed rigorous integrity and eligibility tests. FIFA and CAF have not reported to anyone that their money is missing, and both organizations have been doing auditing of monies given to the NFF. Two years ago, FIFA handed the NFF a clean bill of health on financial management. Our accounts are audited by the same company that audits FIFA – PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

“Our lawyers will take up the matter of the fake news item with the newspaper company that first published it in its online edition. But we urge other media companies and outlets to be painstaking in verification of their news items.

“We also urge our sponsors and partners, football stakeholders in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large, and other media institutions to disregard the said news report as its another attempt by the mob against the NFF to tarnish the image of the Federation and its leadership for whatever gains.”

Fred Edoreh - Publisher

Born July 13, 1965, Fred Edoreh hails from Umeh, Isoko South, Delta State. He attended St. John Primary School, Iselegu, Mater Dei Collage Ashaka, St. Patrick’s Grammar School, Asaba for HSC and graduated in English and Literary Studies at Bendel State University, Ekpoma.
He went into journalism in 1990 with Newbreed Magazine and later crossed over to television production with Ultimate Sports and Soccerworld on the Nigeria Televsion Authority.
He subsequently moved to pioneer Internet publishing in Nigeria with Nigeriasports.com and was later employed at Silverbird Television from where he moved as Editor of Weekend Sports at Naational Mirror Newspapers.
He currently publishes the online sports website www.sportstalkafrica.com besides and also runs a sports marketing outfit, Westcoast Works and Projects, managing and marketing live radio broadcast of the Nigeria Professional Football League.

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SportsTalkAfrica

We bring you the latest news stories, game highlights, updates, photos, video and audio clips, interviews, behind-the-scenes, commentaries and analysis on Sports in the African continent and with Africans in Diaspora Plus entertaining side attractions